Frank J. Sacco

Frank J. Sacco, a long-time resident of Quincy and formerly a well-known letter carrier in his native Hyde Park, passed away on Friday, October 13, 2017 at the Ellis Skilled Nursing and Rehab Facility in Norwood following a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease. He was 84.

Mr. Sacco was born in Boston and raised in Hyde Park, where he worked for the U.S. Postal Service as a letter carrier for 36 years. A 1950 graduate of Hyde Park High School, where he was involved in sports as a player and manager with the football, basketball and baseball teams, he was a funny and roguish character who maintained a strong bond with the community for most of his life. As a recent high school graduate, he also worked as a machinist at the Westinghouse Corporation manufacturing facility in Hyde Park. During the Korean War, he served with the U.S. Air Force as a munitions handler on the island of Guam in the South Pacific and later as a physical education coordinator at Walker Air Force Base in New Mexico.

An avid sports fan who delighted in rooting for the New York Yankees, to the consternation of his family and friends, Mr. Sacco was heavily involved in the Little League program in Hyde Park during the 1950s and 1960s – serving as a coach, umpire and board member. He also umpired and refereed high school and Boston Park League baseball and basketball games during that era and was known for his forceful control of contests. Among his basketball refereeing partners was his friend and fellow Hyde Park resident, Thomas Menino, who went on to serve as mayor of Boston.

In 1969, Mr. Sacco married his late wife, Sandra (Goward) Sacco and moved to Hanson, where they would live for 11 years. In addition to working for the U.S. Postal Service, from which he retired in 1996, during that period of his life he consistently held part-time jobs as a night custodian at the Norfolk County Superior Court House in Dedham, the Hanover Mall and Lombardo’s Function facility in Randolph. In 1980, Mr. Sacco moved to the Wollaston section of Quincy, where his wife’s family had deep roots. They would reside there for nearly 30 years. Following her passing in 2006, and with the onset of his own declining health, Mr. Sacco moved to Brookdale Quincy Bay Senior Living in the Quincy Point section of the city, where he received excellent care from the staff, from his aides with Amazing Grace Personal Homecare of Weymouth, and from his many doctors and other medical providers .

In addition to his wife, Mr. Sacco was pre-deceased by his parents, Anthony and Josephine (Recupero) Sacco, and by his sister, Catherine (Sacco) Pardo and her husband Adolph Pardo. He is survived by a daughter, Erica (Sacco) Keenan and her family, including two granddaughters, and by a step-son, Scott Sacco and his family. He also is survived by his brother Guy Sacco and his wife, Florence Sacco and by five nieces and a nephew.

Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend a graveside service to be held on Friday, October 27, 2017 at 10:30 AM at the Pine Hill Cemetery in Quincy. Guests should meet at the Chickatawbut Road gate off of Willard Street.

In lieu of flowers, the family recommends remembrances in Mr. Sacco’s name be made to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, One Bulfinch Place, Boston, MA 02114.